Hi Everyone , after a week in Sydney it was nice to be back on Sunday with warm weather and blue skies but as usual very little wind early .

8.30am Sunday Juniors

Still with 12 juniors (some very sleepy from a sleepover ?), we sent them off in smooth water blue skies but barely a breeze . The breeze did come in half way through the session from the ss/e so at least people like Hado / Rowan really had a great sail. I even had Rowan gybing as part of her bid to go up another level. More practice next week Rowan.

10.30am Sunday Juniors

We again had a good crowd for this session and with a breeze building from the ss/e to around 4/6 knots it was a perfect morning to work with Brendan and his tacking (what was wrong ? he was stalling out in tacks, solution change sides later). As usual once we got everyone out there what did the wind do you guessed it it died half way to the yellow. Drifting practice took over until I showed Cody how to pump the boat and away he went. With the very slow conditions everyone came in a bit early not that I can blame them it was definitely slow .

Open Bic Racing

With Dan away it was only Charlie and Jonah lining up and with the wind light from the s/e it was always going to be Jonahs day finishing first in both races even if he did go to the wrong mark in race one . Charlie tried his best but it was just too much weight difference although in the second race he halved the finish distance , great racing boys !

Open Race

With two short races set for the day because of the light winds and race one being windward leeward and the second triangles and windward leeward it turned out good racing weather especially with the wind turning east for race two . Tom lead them around in both races and as usual the 4.7 brigade battled it out with no quarter given with rules being yelled at marks and taking people up . We even had a Tasar and the 420 out with good competition between them as well .

Additional Notes

DON'T FORGET : If you can help at our Bunnings Barbeque this Saturday just let us know as we are needing people for the morning and afternoon shifts . All the funds raised help to buy equipment for the kids to sail so its a good cause .

Hi Everyone, sorry I am a bit late this week but I am down in Sydney, unfortunately not sailing thanks to Sydney weather, and yes I know the weather at home has been bright and Sunny and I am looking forward to being back for Sunday .

8.30am Sunday Juniors

With nice wind early while we were setting up I thought we were going to have a great early class finally with some wind but yes you guessed it it dropped by 8am, so it turned into a very slow start to the session. Finally though we started to get some wind and everyone finally got some actual sailing in rather than drifting around .

10.30am Sunday Juniors

With the wind settling in from the s/e it turned into perfect sailing weather with Kyle setting a long reaching course which Shaun and Jess absolutely smoked especially Jess with plenty of hiking out and smiles . The team in the Teras and Bics after some encouragement also started to really stretch out of their boats and enjoy the 8/10 knot winds . All in all it was a great morning .

Open Bic Racing

With Only Dan and Charlie at the start, it was basically Charlies day with good solid winds of 10/15 knots and a course set both in our channel and the main channel he relished the conditions and even Daniel was sailing well , he just improves every week .

Open Racing

With 11 boats at the start line it was a bit hectic so Charlie and Macca started at the boat end which proved very useful for both well until Macca capsized at A mark while bearing away then even though he managed to make up a lot of lost ground he just couldn't pip Peter. I have to say though the best racing was between Casey ( NEW BOAT ) and Pat, and if I hadn't intervened and sent her the wrong way I couldn't have picked who would win , sorry Casey I will shut up next time .

Additional Notes

Volunteers : We are looking for a few people to help at the bunnings sausage sizzle Saturday week so if you can help just let us know .

Sydney 32 : Last Saturday was day one of introduction to the Sydney 32 race yacht for our senior juniors you should have seen the excitement and nerves all in one as the learned how to rig the boat and went through safety again thanks Dave and Danielle for giving us this great opportunity .

Hi Everyone, well the first half of the year has just flown by and now we have the run to Christmas with the Bunnings fundraising Barby, September holiday camps, September Tera race day again, Masters Games, Try sailing and club Xmas party, not to forget the school groups who are starting to book school sailing sessions beginning in August .

8.30am Sunday Juniors

With a good turn out of ten budding sailors and blue shies but unfortunately not much wind, well at times no wind, it was hard going for everyone trying to make it around the buoys . Our new Opti sailor Ruby decided to try the Tera instead so she could practice her steering in the light winds, while the team just tried to make it around the buoys. The newly renamed Yellow boat ( banana boat !) did go out towards the end of the session as we were bored so we decided to push people around in circles ! Why not ? Anyway it was all Charlie's idea, right crew ?

10.30am Sunday Juniors

Finally with the winds slowly settling in the south / east, everyone had a least some wind. The boys (Shaun and Brendan) in the 4.7s decided on an unofficial race while the Bic and Tera sailors just cruised around quietly as they didn't want to wake Abbey who was laying up the front of the Bic snoozing while Rowan steered. Some people have it tough right Ab ?

Open Bic Racing

With conditions really suiting Charlie ( 12/14 knots ), he was off as soon as the flag dropped leaving Dan and Jonah to fight out second and third . Their course was both in our channel and in the Sovereign side and coming to the last rounding buoy Dan was leading Jonah that is until he lost his hat and of course he had to go back for it as its his favourite !

Open Race

With quite a few people away on O/Seas trips or injured we only ended up with ten boats at the start but despite the small fleet it was great racing with Peter fell first Steve second and Roger ( back from injury ) third . Casey took out the 4.7 easily as Pat and Dal took the 420 instead and I have to say despite a few spinnaker problems sailed the boat well , great work boys .

Additional Notes

Don't forget our Bunnings sausage sizzle at the end of the month so if you have some spare time on the day come and give us a hand, or at least come down and buy a sausage !

Hi Everyone, it's definitely official winter is here and the present winds are just adding to the lower temperature, so tell me why the Juniors on Sunday still wanted to jump in the water ? Alright it wasn't as cold as the last couple of days but the water definitely was, right fellow Instructors.

8.30am Sunday Juniors

With the Marathon on out on the main road early, we didn't expect much of a crowd, but despite that we still managed around 10 keen sailors including a few newbies. The wind was light and variable, in other words nearly non existent, and of course the tide was on the way out so there was a lot of drifting south and being towed or walking back to the club. I think Mary and Ava drifted the furthest and ended up on the beach down near the canal then the safety boat slowly towed them back. Towards the end the wind completely died but at least the sun was shining.

10.30am Sunday Juniors

We held off a bit starting because there was simply no wind but everyone was keen to get out so finally we sent everyone out and they even occasionally managed to sail . The two Lasers with Shaun and Brendan with some coaching managed to keep moving up near the club, but for people like Caleb, Hado and Cody who drifted out into the channel it was off south for them as the current was just getting stronger . The good part was we had fun towing people and I suspect Charlie's arms were a bit sore on Monday after hanging on to the tow rope each time .

Additional Notes

Racing is back on Sunday so lets hope we have some wind as I am sure everyone cant wait to get back out there .

We will also be looking for a few volunteers to work our Bunnings Barbeque on the last weekend of July, so if you can spare a couple of hours just let us know at the club. These are always good events for us in both having a laugh while raising funds for our always needed safety gear .

Opps almost forgot who was the only skipper to run aground last Saturday in the Sydney 32 ? I will give you a hint he starts the races and no it wasn't me !

Hi Everyone, after a big weekend with the Bendigo Bank Youth Cup, we will be back to normal operations next Sunday and back racing the following Sunday.

Bendigo Bank Youth Cup

Unlike last year we didn't attract the same number of competitors to this years event and we put that down to the other clubs holding either training events or regattas on the same weekend .

The competition despite the reduced numbers was still fierce in both the 4.7 fleet and also the Open Bic class and with mother nature throwing in slight winds early on Saturday it was definitely a challenge to negotiate the course.

After race one we actually shortened the course by dropping the top mark of the triangle back around 70 metres as race one took nearly 1 hr to complete and the winds were also dropping.

In the Lasers it settled down to a race between Dallas and Casey with Dallas narrowly winning the first and Casey blitzing the field in the following race. After lunch the wind gods graced us with an extra 2 knots of breeze so that we managed to complete four races on the day.

With Jonah Daniel and Charlie our only Bic competitors and with light conditions early as with the Lasers it was especially a struggle for Charlie to make it around the course being the heaviest but in race one there was a great surprise with Daniel taking out his first ever race by just pipping Jonah over the line .

Sunday Racing

With the inclusion of the Tera race fleet numbers were looking much healthier on Sunday but the only problem was their was literally no wind, and after several attempts all racing in the Bendigo Bank Cup was cancelled, so it was up to the Tera fleet to sail paddle around a very short course in front of the club.

With a whole pile of Cup sailors standing on the beach we decided to let them have some fun with the Tera sailors so much capsizing was had by all and still no wind.

Results for the Bendigo Bank Youth Cup :

1st Dallas

2nd Casey

3rd Pat (who managed to find every dead spot on the course)

Results for the Open Bic Racing :

1st Jonah

2nd Daniel

3rd Charlie

In the Teras, Hallam skippered first place since they were the best paddlers, with Cody 2nd, but in the end everyone got a place and a prize, what a great fun day despite the lack of wind .

A special thanks goes to the volunteers Ted Paul Peter Aidan Andrew Kyle and the parents who helped on the day . A special thanks to Pieter and Justine for do their usual great job in the canteen those hot coffees were definitely needed